Bruce Bochy looked exhausted, even after spending the previous seven innings in the clubhouse.

“Is it still Wednesday?” he asked the beat reporters who walked into his office.

Yes, and a happy Wednesday it was, thanks to Michael Morse, Hector Sanchez and a rotating cast of drop-in heros. This game had a little bit of everything, and a whole lot of scoring. The teams combined for 30 hits and nine homers. After scoring 12 runs in their previous seven games, the Giants hit that mark in the 11th when Sanchez smoked his first career grand slam.

The Giants had their second six-homer game in a year (San Diego, last September), but before that it had been six years since they had pulled that one off. Sanchez and Morse were the first duo to hit two homers in a game since Moises Alou and Pedro Feliz formed an imposing pair in 2005. And here’s one last one: Brandon Belt is the first Giant since Barry Bonds in 2007 to hit at least seven bombs in the team’s first 22 games (Belt has homered in all five parks the Giants have played in, too).

It was just one of those days, and of course we got this day after all the 2-1 games of the past week. And of course, because the Giants are the Giants, they made it interesting in the bottom of the 11th, still winning by just two runs after the offensive explosion.

The game story sums up a lot of it, but mostly, it answers a question: Should Hector Sanchez, clearly a very talented 24-year-old switch hitter, be up here, or down in Fresno playing every day. I know that’s a bit of a silly question to ask immediately after his game-winning slam, but it was a viable one before the game. I asked Bochy, Sanchez, Morse and Buster Posey how they felt about the topic, and all were honest.

“His job is a tough job,” Posey said. “Baseball is a game that you need to play a lot, but ever since he came up he’s done a great job, especially as a pinch-hitter. He’s gotten a lot of clutch hits. He’s doing a great job, and I don’t think that’s an easy job he has.”

The other answers are in that game story. As for the rest of the game, well, the hotel bar stays open late, so let’s touch ’em all:

— You always start with the starter after games, but Matt Cain wasn’t near his locker when the clubhouse opened. It had, after all, been a couple hours since Cain last walked off the mound, but his day could have been much shorter. Cain was down 5-1 after two innings and gave up seven hits to the first 12 Rockies hitters. But he ended up going six, and that ended up being huge.

“It had been a pretty tough road trip,” Pence said. “But Cain kept fighting, and not just on the mound. He had good at-bats, too. He led us there. His attitude leaked into us.”

Cain said that’s all he could do at that point.

“Those guys came out swinging it hot,” he said of the Rockies. “They jumped up on me early, but I knew I had to stay in it, especially at this field. You keep going and give your guys a chance to get back.”

By the way, Cain gave up one earned run over 14 innings in his two previous starts and took two losses. He gave up seven earned today and got a no-decision. So if you haven’t already stopped paying attention to pitcher win-loss records, now is the time. (More on this later. #Machi)

— Morse is more confident in the Giants offense than you are. He might be more confident in that group than anyone not named Pence.

“Our offense, like I’ve said, it’s such a good offense,” he said after his two-homer game. “Something was going to spark us, going to ignite us. Today, I think, was that day.”

Morse provided the lighter, hitting two homers that went 458 and 450 feet, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The players with multiple 450-foot bombs in one game since 2006: Edwin Encarnacion, Mike Napoli, Morse.

The new left fielder said he was just trying to stay short to the ball. It’s working, and Morse now has as many homers (five) as nine Giants left fielders had last season in 599 at-bats. He’s now hitting .442 at Coors Field, the highest average of any active player to get at least 10 games here.

Morse has a lot in common with Pence, including his desire to turn the conversation away from himself. When asked about his homers, Morse ended his answer by pointing towards the trainer’s room. “I hope Sanchez is in the ice tub right now,” Morse said. “He caught a long game.”

— Pence reached base in his final five plate appearances. He’s as streaky as it gets, and it looks like he’s getting going on a good one. This just about sums it up:

— Belt’s homer was the second by a Brandon. Hicks had a career-high three hits, including a solo shot that was the first by a Giants second baseman this season (his other homer was a pinch-hit job). Hicks was also at the plate when Bruce Bochy got ejected for the first time this season. He was called out on a slider that actually wasn’t a bad pitch, but looked terrible because of the way Wilin Rosario caught it (and catches most everything):

Brandon Crawford was running, and instead of a walk that put two on for the pitcher (who had two hits Wednesday), the Giants were out of the inning.

“That’s frustrating,” said Bochy, ejected for the 61st time in his career. “That’s a big call. You get the pitcher up and get him out of the way. Obviously I didn’t think the pitch was close. It’s even more frustrating when you’re up here, I’ll leave it at that.”

— Oh, the balk. When this is part of your Wikipedia profile, maybe you’re doing your job wrong?

In all, the bullpen did a decent job considering the environment. Jean Machi pitched to just one batter, but improved to 4-0. Your National League wins leaders: Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Jean Machi. He was laughing about it afterward, and was told that he’s on pace for more than 20 wins.

“Oh, yeah,” he said laughing. “But … maybe?”

— In the dugout, the Giants were quietly thrilled that Walt Weiss decided to intentionally walk Joaquin Arias (in for Pablo Sandoval, who has a stomach virus) and face Sanchez. They felt it was a better matchup because Sanchez loves the big moments and loves to go after fastballs.

“They were looking for a double play,” Sanchez said. “I feel glad that they did it.”

He got eight fastballs during a 10-pitch at-bat. The final one soared over the center field wall. Sanchez enjoyed his first career grand slam, which was the seventh extra-innings slam by a Giant (the last one was A.J. Yikes!). Sanchez had been cramping late in the game because of the heavy workload behind the plate on a humid day, and he took his time around the bases (via @gidget):

“It’s a lot of feelings in that situation,” he said. “Everybody wants to be the hero. I just felt the ball fly. I hit it well. Right at the moment when I hit it, I knew it was out of the park.”

— One last slugger nearly got his chance. Interim manager Ron Wotus went up to Madison Bumgarner shortly after Sanchez’s homer and told him to prepare to hit in the pitcher’s spot.

“He goes, ‘Really!'” Wotus said later. “That’s a pretty good pinch-hitter, too. I didn’t want to use (Ehire) Adrianza in that spot because it’s still Coors, you never know. We didn’t have another catcher, so if something had happened, we wanted to use Adrianza at second and put Hicks behind the plate. He told me he could do it, even though he’s never done it before …”

It didn’t come to that. It didn’t come to a Bumgarner pinch-hit at-bat, either, but he was prepared. His cleats were already on, just in case.

if susac keeps progressing, hector is gonna be traded, because he has too much talent to be a backup, and the giants should be able to get worth for him

South City Jim

Not bad. I always like when Belisle gets in the game. Seems like we always tack on a few against him for whatever reason.

stickman

Wow! Six dingers capped by a salami. Hope this is not just a one-off. Can you imagine this team if both pitching and offense get into high-gear at the same time? The talent is there. At least they go home on a high note and it was also nice that our Horse did not get Cained today.

Bapah

I think Casilla should get the “performance of the game”. I thought there was going to be a small nuclear incident when “Balkin’Bob” did his thing. Instead Casilla held it in and didn’t spray body parts over the field and finished a tough inning. For this he receives the Benzodiazepine award for Coors Ordance Disposal.

DrLefty

NINE left fielders last season. OK, I’m going to see how I do without looking.

Hector was native chatting Casilla up to calm him down. Save=and winning hit=Hector!

ClutchUp

I had 17-15

Eleuthero

Yeah, it was that last field goal that won it for us!! 🙂

ClutchUp

One of the few times our next opponent is not already in SanFranCisco dining while we’re traveling home as Tribe played and won today/nite. Tito Francona, Kipnis, Swisher and Giambino show.

paul in p.v.

Great buzz-kill.

Matthew

Michael, I am pretty sure that Morse read your post this morning, and decided to offer a rebuttal. I couldn’t be totally sure, but I think I saw him mouth ” Pinch hit this, Michael!”

On the other hand, Hector sent me two personalized messages, the last of which was emphasized with a bat flip.

A good day.

ClutchUp

NYY Michael Pineda LOL
Last outing pine tar on his arm/hand.
Tonight a blob of pine tar on his neck for all to see.

*Since “they all use it” dude how about some discretion.

*Could be 3 to 10 game suspension.

Michael Scott

Alex gave me a shot on the blog as soon Morse hit it. Then we exchanged a couple Emails- friendly ones.

Matthew

Nice! Alex rocks.

I heard the last few innings in the car, and kept hearing Dave’s phone ding with texts…I thought of Alex texting him..

Doughnut

Big win. I know its early but this one seemed like an important one. 2-4 feels a whole lot better then 1-5. Buster got some rest and the whole team contributed. Affeldt looks like 2012 postseason Affeldt. What a weapon to have.

I bet Bumgarner was bouncing off the walls when he thought he might get to hit in a tie game. He was probably going into the batting cage and looking up scouting reports lol.

The Oracle

That would have been a bad loss. Fortunately, they had enough to overcome “balkin'” Bob Davisdon and “bobblin'” Brandon Hicks.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Matt Williams taking some heat in DC.

He’s awful. RT @njm1211: I know it’s earlier but how much more evidence is needed before we can deem Matt Williams a bad tactician?

— keithlaw (@keithlaw) April 24, 2014

Foothills Ryan

Keepin’ the ship above the .500 mark. The bullpen is anchored by veterans. They don’t get rattled and often know how to negotiate tight spots even when they don’t have their best stuff. Definitely got to hand it to Affeldt for jumping in without missing a beat.

Note: I haven’t been feeling well lately. I’ve lost over 30 LBS. I’ve decided that it’s best for me to make sure I get my sleep so for the next few weeks if I feel up to it I’ll post the early games and maybe once a week I’ll do an overall update on how our Minor League teams are doing. Have a good evening.

Go Giants.

Foothills Ryan

🙁 That’s a lot of weight. Hope things stabilize. Take care of yourself. Need you strong for the stretch run.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

BTW, now that Hector is catching the whole staff, his defensive metrics have improved greatly. That’s not to say he’s actually better at catching, only that all defensive metrics are a convolution of the catcher/pitcher/umpire dynamic, so now that he’s not catching Lincecum as much, his metrics have improved.

He’s now at about 0.5 RAA (runs above average), while Posey is measured at 1 RAA. Posey is the 8th ranked catcher in the NL, and Hector is the 12th. Caveat, defensive metrics are in their infancy – the eye test should take precedence.

Foothills Ryan

What’s Yadi ?

Foothills Ryan

Baseball is difficult. His next start after dominating with a bunch of K’s, Gregorio gets knocked around.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

-0.2

Vegas Giants Fan*

The Cal League is a tough league to pitch in. Get the ball up and it’ll leave the yard pretty easy. The ballpark at Augusta is one of the toughest parks for right-handers to hit the ball out. Hopefully tonight will be a good lesson for Gregorio. I’m sure he’ll come back just fine.

Foothills Ryan

He’s terrible.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

LOL. Yep it is Keith Law….

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

It’s an umpire backlash. He’s been showing them up for too long.

Foothills Ryan

Home game in SJ – one of the more forgiving parks in the CL ? High desert parks sound scary.

Foothills Ryan

Hope Giants pitchers & hitters don’t get in the habit of showing up the umps.

I’ve had to push myself pretty hard these last few months. My body told me (as well as many of my friends) that I better slow down, take it easy for awhile. I’ll still be here, just not as much as I have been. I’ll just consider myself on the 15 day DL. Thank much, Ryan.

Matthew

Don’t worry…the umps are busy showing up players…they won’t notice

Vegas Giants Fan*

Even though it ranks 96th out of 180 as far as pitcher friendly parks, it ranks # 1 (pitcher friendly) in the California League.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Got to stay below the radar. No articles in BeyondtheBoxscore about how your framing technique fools the umpires into giving your team a 40 run advantage.

Matthew

Take care, Vegas…Godspeed and hope all will be fine. Thanks so much for your posts. Hope we see lots of you soon. Be well, Brother

dgg

This is interesting. How do you know all this stuff, Vegas?

Vegas Giants Fan*

Thank you very much dgg. I saw my doctor last Tuesday. I’m suffering from fatigue basically. Between working and taking care of my Dad I haven’t been taking care of myself. What the old saying? You can’t care of someone if you don’t take care of yourself. I’ve learned my lesson.

Vegas Giants Fan*

Thank you so much, Matthew. It means so much to me the warm, kind words people such as yourself have expressed to me. They always lift my spirits. 🙂

dgg

Family caregivers are unsung heroes.

Foothills Ryan

The Brewers didn’t have any problems with Tyson Ross. They tag him for 5 runs in 6 IP (in their home yard). Kyle Lohse moves to 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA. Quite a story.

Doughnut

I like how Hector communicates with his pitchers and goes out and talks to them. I also like what I see from him regarding calling pitches and understanding the location the pitches need to be in. You can see him emphasize where he wants the ball on important pitches. These are things I like a lot and like to see all catchers doing.
What Hector needs to do better is the mechanics. Framing pitches better and blocking balls. Those things can be taught and practiced if he is dedicated enough and if he has enough in game repetition. but right now they are a work in progress. But his understanding of pitch situations and the consequences of not executing location and going with what is working I like. But you can’t catch if you can’t frame and block.
A lot of websites have pointed out like you have below that if you frame pitches well you can save a ridiculous amount of runs over the course of a year because, well, mlb umpires are easily manipulated by it. Lucroy and Molina save so many runs that they are some of the most valuable players in the league.

Vegas Giants Fan*

It’s from an article I read by Baseball America. They did a three year study on the top 180 Minor League Parks. (Triple A thru Low A) Richmond is the 8th best pitcher friendly park in all of the minor leagues. Augusta is #10. Augusta is also the second most difficult ballpark in the minors to hit home runs. I was incorrect with San Jose’s ranking. San Jose’s park ranks #66 out of 180. Fresno ranks 96th. Augusta is # 2 in their league, Richmond is # 1. San Jose is # 1 in their league and Fresno is 9th out of 16 in their league. I did a very long post on this article this past off season. I’ll see if I can find what day I did that post so you can read the whole thing. It’s very interesting. It helps put into perspective on just how well our minor leagues are really doing.

I can’t believe I remembered the parks rankings.

Vegas Giants Fan*

It’s worth it. 😉

Foothills Ryan

I’ll do my best to make you proud with some fill-in minor league reporting. I’ll try to focus on Fresno – I hope to catch a few more games. If Kershaw was going to do a rehab in Fresno this Friday, I’d try to go, but he’s going to start his rehab for Rancho Cucamonga.

Foothills Ryan

This just in: Zach Greinke is really good. He moves to 4-0 with 2.45 ERA. He’s on the early season short list for NL CY. Ryu may also qualify for that list.

South City Jim

Harang-atang

dgg

Alex, these are terrific write-ups. The game story and blog. The stats, details, history, humor, a gif, a Strikezone Plot for one pitch!, always interesting quotes, a big question answered, a Wikipedia profile, all connected together by a riveting narrative, with bookend quotes: Bochy to start out, and Bumgarner to wrap up. Wow.

DrLefty

Pfft. Machi beat him to four wins.

Mr. Sarcastic

LOL

DrLefty

Hope you get some good rest and start feeling better really quickly. We really enjoy you around here. You’re a MVP: Most Valuable Poster.

dgg

That’s really cool of Alex. I’ll backtrack through the comments to find out what he said.

Vegas Giants Fan*

I’ve actually started to borrow from your reporting style. I’m trying to add a little more flavor to the MLR.

Final at San Jose: Visalia 12 – San Jose 4. HR’s by Williamson and Galindo.

Keep an eye on Galindo for me. 2 for 4 – HR – RBI – .359 SB (7)
.359/.385/.432/.817 with 7 SB as San Jose’s lead off hitter. He’s got an excellent arm too. If one of Richmond’s outfielders move up to Fresno I would expect Galindo to move up.

Moooooooooose

Wow, two Cy Young candidates and they are only a game ahead of the pitiful Giants.

dgg

This cheered me up immensely, Moooose. Because I really don’t want to hear how spectacular Greinke is pitching.

Mr. Sarcastic

Hunter Pence is a class act. Always deflecting attention away from himself, always praising the contributions from his teammates, and always looking for the silver lining. Matt Cain did not have a stellar performance today, but there’s Pence saying Cain’s “attitude” inspired them.

That’s a guy I can root for, for all the right reasons.

(Oh yeah… he’s starting to hit a bit too…)

dgg

Benzos! I was at work when I first read this and burst out laughing. The problem was, I was drinking some chocolate milk.

DrLefty

We have one, too. Hudson is 2nd in the NL in WHIP, behind only Harang (and that will not last).

Also, Bum’s going to win the Silver Slugger.

ClutchUp

Agreed, but try telling his statistical haterz that or the buggers/buzzards that come here with. “Hunter Pence Watch” …

pacman68

That was a crazy game today. Giants needed that badly. Bochy, please don’t take Belt out of the 3rd spot.

Vegas Giants Fan*

dgg. Google Minor League Parks Drive Performance – Baseball America to read the article I told you about. It’s a great read. Written by Matt Eddy – March 19, 2013.

dgg

Okay, will do. Thanks, Vegas!

Mr. Sarcastic

Well I don’t really care what their opinions are Clutch.. =D

Vegas Giants Fan*

I know you’ll enjoy it.

ClutchUp

Great job Vegas
Our best to Dad_Vegas_Fan
What Lefty said is echoed by all HERE!

pacman68

Foothills has always been a closet Dodger fan.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

I too have always like Hector’s game calling and his communication with the pitcher. As for framing, were talking about five calls per game between the worst and best catchers in the league (that’s with sufficient sample size). Is that worth 100 runs (10 wins) a year, as some claim? No, that’s certainly a gross overestimation. But it is a number that allows relative comparisons of catchers, of course with the caveat that were really talking about the pitch/catcher/umpire convolution.

SurfCity

May your comment rub off on ClutchUp! 🙂

Vegas Giants Fan*

Thanks Lefty. You’re always so kind to me. I’ll do my best to get back in shape. All of you are like family to me.

SurfCity

Sounds like good plan. Thank you.

Vegas Giants Fan*

Thanks Clutch. It’s time for bed. See you all soon.

dgg

This is funny. From Grant Brisbee:

“There was an iffy strike call to kill a rally that got Bruce Bochy tossed. There was an iffy balk call to help tie the game for the Rockies that would have gotten Bochy tossed if he were still in the game.”

Vegas Giants Fan*

Thanks Surf. I’ll close my eyes and pretend I can here the waves crashing on the beach to put me to sleep, just like when I was a kid living on 30th avenue.

Bapah

Wotus had to bite his tongue so hard there was blood on his lip.

standardstarboard

I too enjoy your posts Vegas. You always have insightful posts and good info on the minor clubs. Take care and get well. Best wishes to your Pop. And yes, Go Giants.

SurfCity

Still much the same out there. Of course people are building new houses. But there’s a definite segment of people who want to keep Pleasure Point from getting yuppified.

Eleuthero

Oh we’re not that freaking reactionary, Clutch. Even the Giants’ critics know that they’re not going to hit .228 for the season. I don’t claim they stink. I claim that when all the variables are added up they’re a mediocre squad and that’s mainly a statement about the Front Office. The team is so threadbare that if a couple of starters are out for any length of time you’re trying to win ballgames with Adrianza, Perez, or whatever .220 hitter with no power you’d care to name. God forbid that one of the “Big Three” pitchers goes down. Now you’ve got all these banged up players like Pagan, Crawford, Scoots, and maybe even Posey (sitting out completely for THREE games, hmmm). They’ve got NO depth, except in the bullpen.

Today, however, was both fun and hilarious. Sanchez driving in five? He will NEVER, EVER do that again.

Eleuthero

Duh … Moose … one of ’em has been on the DL all year, okay?

Eleuthero

Regrettably, whether we don’t want to hear about LA’s pitching or not, you’ve got to admit that when they’ve got ’em all healthy and don’t have to start Maholm, which one is as unsteady as Vogey or Timmy? It’s a rhetorical question.

Eleuthero

Maybe catching Lincecum is WHY Posey has sat the pines without playing any position for 3 games this year. I wonder if they’re hiding an injury? Lincecum’s dirtballs are not a fun night for any catcher.

totalfan62

Much love & thanks for all you do for GE, bro. Feel better!

totalfan62

I think maybe Posey’s struggles have been a significant factor in the overall hitting slump. The Giants win when Posey hits. He’s not, so Pence & Pablo pressing, Morse still fitting in, Brandons growing–lots of moving parts. I have zero concern about Posey. Yesterday was much-needed elixir, and this six-game home stand should be good for all. It’s still April–early in a long season. Go Giants!

PerSpeier35

Saw the game on the replay last night. Balkin’ Bob kills me. He was like a proud papa after that call, trying to hold back the pride he was feeling for making up that call. Unbelievable, he mimicked to the coach that the pitcher jerked his shoulder, then on the replay you could see he only bobbed his head. He reminds me of umpires in high school and in our men’s league who love calling guys out on pickoffs. Anything close and you’re out. No excuse though in MLB, what a joke how they put up with this type of game calling.

Foothills Ryan

If Posey wasn’t hitting the ball with authority, I’d be worried. But he’s got 4 HRs. It’s a matter of timing.

As for Sandoval, I wouldn’t mind seeing him just hit from the left side. Don’t know if he will ever relax. Or may be vision related after all.

Pence will be Pence. His OBP is a hair higher than Brandon Belt’s – essentially the same. Right around or above the career norm for Hunter.

PerSpeier35

I sure hope you are right about Buster. That contract is like a huge albatross around his neck in terms of long term performance. When he launched that first pitch fastball out of San Diego the other day I thought that would shake him loose but he was horrible in Denver. Very nice that Sanchez picked him up yesterday.

Even more concerning, Buster usually mashes there. At the beginning of the series, he had the best career batting average at Coors of any active play with 100+ ABs (maybe any visiting player).

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Perhaps, but I think getting full days off was the plan from the beginning. He definitely wore down last year. FWIW, there is speculation that his collision with Goldschmidt dinged him a bit.

Foothills Ryan

It would be nice if the other batters were hitting so he could bat 2nd, or 5/6th.

Foothills Ryan

Hunter Pence Watch: OBP: .340 (that’s good)

PerSpeier35

I bet you do. I’ve been picked a few times though, I’m not so fond of the play.

Foothills Ryan

You got it, chief !

Foothills Ryan

Gotta stay awake out there. Can’t chat up the first baseman or think about how good your swing felt 🙂

Foothills Ryan

ahh yes, I see you guys and gals have an appreciation for the art of pitching.

Foothills Ryan

Huddy’s been fantastic. Fernandez and Cashner should pull ahead provided good health – but Greinke really knows what he’s doing out there and Ryu continues to impress me. Hey, the Giants had an opportunity to go for each of them.

BALDHEADSLIK1

Dave Fleming on radio sd he was surprised the balk wasn’t called on the prior pitch, just sayin.

BALDHEADSLIK1

Yeah and Kershaw hasn’t played pretty much all month and we’re only 1 game back Yipeeeeeeeee wait til he returns then maybe we will catch them and maybe even go up 3 or 4 games.

BALDHEADSLIK1

GSW need to do work tonight!!

DrLefty

It isn’t “just in.” Greinke won a Cy Young in 2009 and signed a huge contract in 2012. Everyone knows he’s good.

It’s nice for LA that Greinke was able to keep them from getting swept by the last-place Phillies in their own ballpark. (At least the Phils WERE in last place before they played the Dodgers. This just in: Cliff Lee and A.J. Burnett are really good.)

Foothills Ryan

Read all about it: Greinke’s been exceptionally good so far. 12.3 K/9 & 1.5 BB/9.

DrLefty

I think they should sign Patrick Willis to a one-day contract. The first time Griffin or Barnes comes near Steph, BOOM.

Matthew

baldy, I heard that on the radio too..then watched the replay..Balkin’ Bob was just wrong. Again. It wasn’t a balk, of course.

I think Flemm said that mostly because he knew that Davidson was on the crew and how he looks for balks at every chance. Plus..Dave is just a nice guy. Not like me…us… well, some.

Actually Eleuthero, to quote you: ” The team is so threadbare that if a couple of starters are out for any length of time…” plug in in your reserves for any player on any team because this is true for just about every MLB team. I think the Giants have some very good to great money players and they have not clicked yet as a complete team. Posey and Panda in particular look horrible, tired and just not impressive at the plate. I have no doubt Posey will be ok, even great… Panda worries me. Belt is getting more impressive. If our defense stays good and our starters are in the top 5-6 in team era in the NL than I think we will be a very good team.

2holehitting

You spend so many years in Houston, you learn to speak like that. By the way, deflecting from your praise and praising others is part of the Jim Harbaugh playbook that he brought to San Fran.

Great points about Pence Mr. Sarcastic! I agree. What a class act and a professional. He always plays hard!!! I love that!!

2holehitting

Don’t look now but BB9 is tied for the lead with other stalwart gold glovers Brandon Hicks and Pablos Sandoval for Errors. Me thinks he needs a late inning replacement like Arias.

BALDHEADSLIK1

If someone on the clippers even looks at steph the wrong way his teammates need to be all over it. Watch out for the goon Matt Barnes he’s a troublemaker, the warriors need to be physical with CP3 or whatever his name is (can’t stand him)and the funny looking guy Blake Griffin. Match the physicality of the clips and I guarantee you they will back up a little. Klay and Stephs jumpers need to fall tonight. Sure would be nice to see Bogut their for support that would go a long way.

ClutchUp

Hater

ClutchUp

THAT As you know was NO BALK.
Casilla never moved his back shoulder. Never!

Or maybe Willis and Bowman on the pick and roll? Who’s going to get in the way of the “rollee”?

Matthew

…or like Starlin Castro…

Matthew

I love this George fellow…well reasoned, takes the time to educate the doomsday set.

George, they usually don’t have any desire to see the positive side of things. It’s their chosen attitude, and they are intent to hang on to it, even in times of prosperity. But I laud you for maintaining the ongoing effort. Good stuff

Matthew

Clutch linked an article for ESPN the other day that summed up the sorry state of the NBA, using Steph as the unintended example. It basically said that if Steph complained more, he would get more calls.

CP3 and Griffin have learned the lesson of big market/anointed star entitlement. Well, I am proud that Steph has gained his huge following via smart, honest play, and humility. If the only way to succeed in the NBA is with whining, embellishing and entitled brat attitude, I don’t think Steph will ever manage that.

Matthew

You mean the loss or something else?

Michael Scott

Has Krukow apologized yet?
Alex has already ripped me for my criticism of Morse ( in a friendly manner), so you proles needn’t bother.
I waived Hicks a few times. That was a mistake. I meant to say that he wasn’t a “Major” hitter
Pablo is batting .300 with no outs. Can a rule change be arranged?
Official Rule: 8.02(a)(2):
“The pitcher shall not have expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove.” Hmmmmm..
The Rockheads walked Arias to pitch to Hector. Not bad strategy but Sanchez showed unusual patience, worked the count to 3-2 and then Bettis threw him a challenge fastball.. uh,Hector can hit a fastball,,( borrowed my expert analyses from Baseball Prospectus)
Excuse me. The pine tar has my fingers stuck to the keyboard,,

Thank you Matthew! I like to remember that the players are human and I am sure they are trying as hard as they can. As a fan it is easy to forget that. I played a long time too and I remember how hard the game is and that you see things differently when you are an athlete.

I think one of my favorite things about Bochy is his loyalty and upbeat attitude toward the team, at least publicly. He is classy and I think the team feeds off that, last year’s debacle not withstanding!!

I am confident about this year. I really am. We can with the World Series again with this bunch and maybe one new young hard throwing starter!!

Let’s Go Giants! By the way, if anyone here will be in Pittsburgh, I am going to the three games the week after next. I would love to connect with other Giants fans. I will be wearing my Posey jersey!

Michael Scott

Samardzija had chewing gum on his neck.

Michael Scott

Bob hates a guy lacking command..

Michael Scott

I hear that Don Zimmer used to use his head to deflect pickoff throws..

Michael Scott

.244 2 HRs after the break last year .229 4 HRs this year. Maybe we need a new “face of the franchise”? How about Murph?

avwh

I’m convinced the Warriors NEVER get their stars protected, or get the foul calls, because Jackson doesn’t work the refs at all.

He’s the most passive NBA head coach on a contending team I’ve seen, when it comes to working the refs.

avwh

At lease Balkin’ Bob CLEARLY earned his nickname. 🙁

avwh

And Flemming was wrong. Yes, Casilla did the head fake both times. Neither time did he lift his shoulder.

avwh

What do the Marlins and the Cubs have in common??
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Neither has won a World Series in their new stadiums.

😉 😉

YogiBarrister

“By the way, Cain gave up one earned run over 14 innings in his two previous starts and took two losses. He gave up seven earned today and got a no-decision. So if you haven’t already stopped paying attention to pitcher win-loss records”

Cain got two hits yesterday, if he’d managed to do that Friday, they might have won. Also, the run Denorfia scored may not have been earned, but it was certainly deserved.
Alex is right about a reliever’s won-loss record, it fact it’s sometimes a negative, but for a starter, whether or not his team wins is the only thing that matters. You wouldn’t want a pitcher who believes otherwise.

Jim Johnson headed for Tommy John. Man, they are really bad at assessing risk for this type of thing. He had surgery to remove bone chips over the winter. He did have forearm tightness last season. Way to stay away, Sabes.

Mark Trumbo has some sort of stress fracture. Bad to worse for snakes.

Padres seem to have Nick Hundley on the trade block.

Matthew

He’s no Machi….

Matthew

Amazing how those that played (as well as many who are true students of the game) have that calm understanding…

I think there MAY be more than one Posey jersey in the stands with you, George! Enjoy, and bring some serious Giants Mojo/Karma

MLBSF

Michael Scott. it sounds like this chaotic and so far disappointing Giants season is causing you to booze it up just as frequently as Bapah.

It’s an outrage if you ask me. smh

Ken E

Krukow is Mr. Pollyanna so I thoroughly enjoyed him speaking his mind about Hector last Friday. To Kruk’s credit in the post game he owned up to it and gave Hector his due. However, Kruk wasn’t wrong at the time (it was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen for a position player, he pretty much single-handedly lost that game with his glove and bat) and I’d love to see him speak his mind more often instead of being the Giants head cheerleader. Kruk has a sharp baseball mind and he’s much more pleasant to listen to when he tells like it is rather than with his cheerleader speak.

MLBSF

The big question on a big sports night with the Warriors and Sharks playing is how creative Warrior fans are going to get tonight taunting the crybaby Blake Griffin and the rest of these very unlikable Los Angeles Clippers.

At least the Giants are off. Maybe one day I won’t have a headache. Believe you me.

Michael Scott

This has been covered- criticism was fair. The anger at a young reserve catcher was not fair. Thanks for your input..

Anti-Lasorda

Such a whiny baby … smh

Anti-Lasorda

Shut your mouth!

Anti-Lasorda

One of us picked Wainwright to win Cy… I don’t know who that was, but he’s looking purty Smart so far.

HaakAway

Hey “Freedom” Man … Some truth to this but today is the wrong day to make that case … the team showed depth. All-in-all can you agree that we need another month to seriously question our future? Seems yesterday reminded me that it is SO early.

Bapah

Fully agree.

Michael Scott

Krukow was an apologist for Zito during the first five years of Zito’s career. That wasn’t an anomaly, as many others have commented, he rarely criticizes vets, he saves it for the kids..

MLBSF

True. That’s why nobody likes Griffin

ClutchUp

Dbacks Trumbo to the DL

Roger The Keish recalled

Michael Scott

I’d agree if he wasn’t so selective in his criticism. As an analyst, he should be honest about the team and the players’ performance. No problem with that. The over the top anger was unprofessional and uncalled for.

Michael Scott

“I love Tim Hudson’s walk rate…”
I dunno, it’s not bad 😉

Michael Scott

They’ll be announcing the winner tomorrow?

Bapah

What’s your blog address?

Matthew

Ken, the criticism of Krukow doesn’t have to do with his candor, per se…it is regarding his selective use of it…he is nowhere near equal in dosing it out. So, I believe I speak for others by agreeing that Krukow’s honesty is great…but it is selective honesty, which isn’t.

Michael Scott

Why?

Michael Scott

You want a fried chicken recipe?

Bapah

need to talk and can’t here

Bapah

need a recipe

MLBSF

I’m guessing a mixed drink recipe. Either that or the hiding the posts strategy isn’t working too well for Bapah and Bapah needs urgent advice on a new strategy. smh

Big! win by the Giants. Hactor and Morse were the stars in leading this much needed comeback. Way to go both of you.

Since I see plenty of Go Warriors comments on this Giants board (even though many Giants fans are not W’s fans), here’s one for my Blazers:
I’m digging the playoffs so far. Wearing my #12 ‘Rip City’ jersey today. Lamarcus Aldridge = simply unstoppable. This edition of the Trail Blazers is the first Portland team to win the first 2 roadies in a playoff series since the 1977 Championship year. Go Blazers!

And Go San Jose Sharks too. Up 3-0 over the L.A. Kings in NHL playoffs. Chomp, chomp.

Foothills Ryan

A good safe pick. Pav’s had the odds before the season. Bum was like 1:15, Fernandez was 1:10. I think that was the best pick. I wonder where Cashner was. Maybe 1:20. So maybe that would’ve been the best pick.

Moooooooooose

I would have hoped in the last year you would have learned how to read.

Moooooooooose

Ooooooo, I sooooo scared of the mighty Dodgers!

Foothills Ryan

Bring on Roger’s K’s.

Swing looked good in Fresno though.

ClutchUp

As Ken E said: Krukow said “I buried him the other night so its appropriate that I so honor him as my player of the game” ….

Moooooooooose

Nobody wins the Cy Young in April. I believe May 3 is when they decide.

Eleuthero

Why do we need another month? It’s basically the same team with some very minor tweaking. Already we seem to be having physical ailments (Scoots, Buster, Pagan, Crawford) in a lineup where we can ill afford ANY starter to be out. The loss of ONE guy last year (Pagan) was enough to shake this team to the core. In 2011 we saw what Buster’s absence did. That’s why 2010 and 2012 were so amazing … we did it with “threadbare” teams that were lucky to be healthy at just the right time.

Michael Scott

He said that Hector was not a Major League catcher. If he wasn’t then, he wasn’t yesterday. Krukow owes a straight forward apology for the comment.

Foothills Ryan

“Nobody wins in the Cy Young in April, but you can certainly lose the Cy Young in April.”

Foothills Ryan

A couple more early lines from some probable contendahs already mentioned:

Andrew Cashner: 8.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 2.10 ERA in 34.1 IP

Madison Bumgarner: 10.0 K/0, 2.8 BB/9, 3.14 ERA in 28.2 IP

The Oracle

Too bad about the timing. I hear that Bochy and Sabean were thinking he still had something left and were about to sign him to a minor league deal.

totalfan62

L.A. Is a beast. Just keeps getting better.

HaakAway

Agree with you about Buster and 2011. We need another month because of Sample Size … as you said, they are not going to hit .228. And I agree about “lucky to be healthy” but again it is way to early to look at these early Dings as long-term. Or make your claim that they are a mediocre squad isn’t it? Morse and Hudson are looking like more than ‘minor tweaks’ (if you were referring to last year vs. this year.)

Bapah

suit yourself, mine was a serious request. forget it.

Michael Scott

It was hard to tell. I haven’t done much with it for awhile, but if you want to see it, here it is. And there is fried chicken recipe. and Pot Likker. BBQ Crab..http://zekesplace.wordpress.com/

ClutchUp

Any Warrior Game predictions on who gets T’d up tonight and the total amount of Technical fouls for both teams.

*Chris/Woj is “incorrect”. MANY Giant fans are Warrior fans. Soon to be SF warriors, like their Original name.

I’m one clutch, warriorgiants fan. I remember my pops watching warriors and Gs games on a grainy tv where you could barely see Butch Beard,Sonny Parker, R Barry etc….. you had to strain your eyes all while continuously moving the rabbit ears. Good times back then.

Ken E

No argument there, I completely agree with you Matthew, which is why I’d like to see him speak his mind far more regularly about everybody instead of being just like you said, “selectively honest” about speaking his mind.

BALDHEADSLIK1

Your cold

BALDHEADSLIK1

Watch he flourish in a hitters paradise,

BALDHEADSLIK1

Griffin looks like one of those guys who got beat up a lot when he was a kid, strange looking fella.

BALDHEADSLIK1

Easy to criticize a non star……..especially if he’s not from this country. Easy pickings.

Michael Scott

Thanks for agreeing with what I said 2 hours ago,

Michael Scott

A straight forward apology from Krukow goes like this: “I apologize to Hector for saying *he is not a big league catcher* I was wrong,”

BALDHEADSLIK1

You can tell Kate Scott is very irritated with Gary being back on knbr, you can feel it with her lack of patience with him. I don’t blame her .

pacman68

Morse has as many home runs as the 9 outfielders Sabean trotted out last year. LOL

Ken E

You’re welcome. I didn’t see your post down there until after I responded but you were absolutely right and you were the first to point it out! You seem quite frustrated today, everything ok? Giants won and have an off day. Let’s enjoy the Warriors and Sharks tonight.

Yeah except that’s not an apology. That’s closer to taking credit for the homer.

Michael Scott

Bapah asked me about a regular poster who been banned. I wanted to be sure to check his Emails about it. I also Emailed Alex and he’s reinstating the user he banned. Scroo you.

SurfCity

Promoting your own blog now on Alex’s blog?

MLBSF

Nice. Glad it worked out for the City

MLBSF

It’s excruciating to say the least if you ask me. smh

SurfCity

Yes, it’s super important that your personal email and promos for your own blog appear here in your comments. All the more ironic because you are a blog nanny to others but feel OK to use the blog for self promotion. Contort much?

That’s a pretty wild game of twister you got going there.

MLBSF

This is true

SurfCity

Also heard there will a “rematch” game, a touch-football game between the Dolphins and the Niners, with Joe Montana and Dan Marino.
Wondered if I was reading the Onion though!

DrLefty

About a week ago, I read that Bogut was in so much pain he couldn’t leave his house. Poor guy. Maybe by tonight or Sunday he’ll feel well enough to sit with the team. He could accidentally stick his foot out when Griffin goes by. Oops.

Michael Scott

Collapse me. Or whatever. I think it was good to get CC reinstated and I could a sheet about your opinion of me.

Michael Scott

I was asked to.

Michael Scott

It already was.

SurfCity

I don’t know what CC got banned for, but he regularly practices the same form of hypocritical entitlement about the blog that you do. So it’s not surprising.

The recipe for trolls on a blog is:
1)A-holes who want to troll
2)People who like feeding the trolls.

Both are necessary for trolls to thrive. You, CC and a couple others make up group 2.

SurfCity

By whom?

PerSpeier35

The only thing Gary loves more than himself is his money.

Michael Scott

Complain to Alex.

Matthew

I don’t …not much sports leader in my life

SurfCity

Radnich’s schtick grew old 20 years ago.

Matthew

Guys I Liked On The Giants Sightings:

Chris Stewart (PIT)guns down Billy Hamilton on the bases.
Keish (AZ)whiffs on a fly ball in left field leading to a Cubs run.

SurfCity

Saw a bit of it online.

Will brace for the tourist onslaught from the North! 🙂

Michael Scott

I stopped replying to them a couple days ago. CC is a very interesting commenter IMO. I had thought you were, too.

Michael Scott

Manute Bol wasn’t much of player but he was a great man. I think of him often.

Bapah

Step this way, I’ve found a dead horse.

SurfCity

Lots of people are interesting. Doesn’t excuse bad behavior.

Foothills Ryan

No easy task for Stew. WTG ! He has one of the Guns of the Navarone. A very interesting man.

I”m with you on this one. What Krukow said was not an apology. I doubt he’ll apologize though, but he will lose cred.

Foothills Ryan

Roger’s K’s ??

2

2holehitting

you make me laugh….

Michael Scott

In retrospect I shouldn’t have replied to Bapah on the blog or provided the link to my blog. It was really unused for several months so I put up a quick post to let him tell me what he wanted. Sorry that it offended you so,. But it shouldn’t have warranted what I think was an over the top response from you. As far as my comments on the blog, I think they are interesting, mostly humorous, and I have plenty of time on my hands to make them. Sorry that you disagree. Have a nice day,

2holehitting

I find it interesting a Shortstop or a third baseman has to pickup a bouncing groundball wether it be a 1 hopper or many hopppppper. It does not matter if it is to the left or to the right or if they need to move 3 or 4 steps, if the ball kicks up and he boots it is an error. He also has to make a good throw. If he does not that it is an error if the scorer thinks he could have gotten him.

So why is a first baseman left off easy. A throw that bounces in the dirt that he does not field is an error on the thrower not the first baseman.Yet that is is his job and what he is supposed to do. Just like blocking a ball in the dirt is expected of a Catcher. They ask so little of a first baseman and put all the fault on the other players.

Me thinks that is wrong. A first baseman should be able to catch a 1 hopper or a throw in the dirt. If he does not that should be an error on him.

paul in p.v.

Back in the Winter Snorkel wuz hoping the Gints would sign J. Johnson – dodged a bullet!

2holehitting

Yeah you wonder he had the PCL and MCL repaired last June. They indicated he would rehab for 6 to 9 months. It is now 10 months.

Gary took over the Pete Franklins schtick.You know loud mouthed grumpy old man who does not care what others think. Remember the King and the Kid show. Franklin use poor ol Bob as his whippin boy.

2holehitting

Aldrige is a BEAST…….

Eleuthero

Just as we need “sample size” to make a long-term claim about the team, we need that same sample size to come to a conclusion about Morse and Hudson. Morse, throughout his career, has had an enormous tendency to get injured and need surgery or be a platoon player. In nine full MLB seasons he has 88 HR and 287 RBI. You’ve got to ask yourself how a guy with his power could be a platoon player for a decade. Hudson … he’s irreproachable and is THE real “tweak” they made.

Anti-Lasorda

Hold on, hold on, you better make sure Bob has a fair completion to use that term otherwise you might be a racist……

The Oracle

Still hasn’t recovered from knee surgery. The Warriors haven’t gone into much detail about it.

paul in p.v.

This may be redundant – haven’t read all the comments – but did you see Pence’s bolt thru the pitcher’s mound right after getting brushed back around the 3rd inning? THAT was fun!

2holehitting

I read or heard from the Giants or Krukow and Kuiper that most pitchers use pine tar to get a better grip. The rosen bag is not good enough. Whoever I read/heard from was OK with it because it meant the ball did not slip and head for the head.

paul in p.v.

Then that Chatwood guy walked Crawford on 4 pitches and just missed his jewels on the final ball – Craws just dropped the bat in one move, peeled off the armor and trotted to first. Equivalent of a bat flip on ball four. :o)

Anti-Lasorda

No comment

BALDHEADSLIK1

Good point

BALDHEADSLIK1

You can say that again

paul in p.v.

Con calma Vegas – take care of yourself. :o) Snorkel

paul in p.v.

10 – the maximum.

2holehitting

an article from April 3rd suggested he could be working out with the W’s within a week or so according to Monte Pool and back in time for the playoffs